there was a hole at the bottom of
those rocks across there, where the little stream came out?"

"Yes," said Rodd, with his brow puckering up.

"Well, yesterday evening, as I said to your uncle, I went over the
ground again to see if I could find any track of those escaped
prisoners."

Rodd nodded shortly.

"Well, I took off my gaiters and shoes and stockings and waded across
the pool, and nearly doubled myself up to get into that hole; and after
I had gone a little way I found that there was quite a dry cave there
with streaks of light coming down from above between the piled-up
stones."

Rodd nodded again.

"Just in the highest part where the water did not reach, some one had
lit a fire with bits of ling and dry peat. It was still warm--at least,
the ashes were, and somebody had been busy cooking trout there, grilling
them, thriddled on a stick of hazel; and very curious it was too, for
somehow or other, the water, instead of running down, had been running
up backwards like, and carried with it that there fishing-basket of
yours, and the wallet, and laid them upon that nice dry sandy place
close up to the fire along by which there were ever so many heads of
those little fish, and their backbones. Rum, wasn't it? Do you think
an otter could have done that?"

"No," said Rodd, after a few moments' pause; and he spoke sharply and
angrily. "No, I don't think that."

"More don't I," said the sergeant dryly, and he half closed his eyes and
sent a faint little curl of smoke into the air. "Now, young gentleman,
what do you think would happen if I was to go yonder to the governor at
the prison, and say that I believed you had helped the King's enemies to
escape? You didn't, of course, eh?"

Rodd moistened his lips again, and his frank young face looked very much
puckered and wrinkled as he pulled himself together and looked almost
defiantly at his questioner, who exclaimed--

"Well, you heard what I said."

The boy nodded.

"Well, speak out. You didn't, of course?"

Rodd drew a deep breath, moistened his lips again, and then out the
words came. "Yes," he said, "I did!"

"Hah!" said the sergeant, as he fixed the boy with his keen grey eyes
and spoke to him as if he were one of his recruits. "Well, I like that.
Spoken like a man. My old mother used to say, `Speak the truth, Tom,
and then you needn't be afraid of any man.' Look here, youngster, I am
only a soldier, and you are a young gentleman, or els